Rockets at Warriors
The Houston Rockets have the momentum but they still have to figure out a way to win a game in the Golden State Warriors' venue. Visiting Houston won the past two games to knot the Western Conference semifinals at 2-2 entering the pivotal Game 5 matchup but the Warriors are the home club for two of the final three games.
The Rockets posted a 112-108 home win over Golden State on Monday but the players agreed a higher level of effort will be needed to take a 3-2 series lead. "We played OK and we got some wins, but we've got to be better," forward PJ Tucker, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds in Game 4, told reporters. "We've got to be more aggressive. We've got to play faster the whole game. We've got to pick it up. ... I'm going to tell you right now, we've got to be more intense the next game." The Warriors won the first two games on their home floor but the outlook has changed after the two setbacks in Houston. "We got to just change our mindset and I think if we change our mindset then we'll be just fine, but we haven't these last two games," Golden State power forward Draymond Green told reporters. "The first two games I think it was the complete opposite. I think we were taking it to them and they weren't really responding as far as the physicality went. And so that's the difference in this series. That's why it's 2-2."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE ROCKETS: Houston has knocked down 66 3-pointers in the series -- 26 more than the Warriors -- and that differential is a key reason why the Rockets feel like they can win the series. "It's intense and every possession matters," point guard Chris Paul told reporters after Game 4. "If you love to hoop, then you want that challenge to try to stop some of the best players to ever play." Star guard James Harden has drained 18 3-pointers while averaging 35.8 points but the play of shooting guard Eric Gordon has also been key as the veteran has made 16 3-pointers while averaging 23 points.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are hearing more clanks than usual as they struggle throughout the series -- Curry is 12-of-46 from 3-point range in the series and Thompson is just 8-of-26. "Hearing all the noise and chatter about how I've been playing this series, I take it all in stride and understand what I'm capable of," Curry told reporters after Game 4. "And doing it within the context of how we play as a team, I can play even better. So I'm just trying to stay within my own zone, in terms of what I expect from myself on the floor and leaving it all out there and living with the results because I know how prepared I am every night." Curry is averaging 21.3 points in the series and Thompson is at 15.3 per game.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors SF Kevin Durant is averaging 36 points in the series with a high game of 46 and a low output of 29.
2. Tucker is averaging 12.3 points and 10.7 rebounds over the past three games.
3. Golden State received just 18 points from its bench in the back-to-back losses and 42 in the series.